


Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise

by iamladyloki



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, mama emma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-09-03 00:35:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8689717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamladyloki/pseuds/iamladyloki
Summary: Ruby sets fellow undergraduate student Emma up on a blind date with Killian, a grad student she knows. Emma, who has a son that is only a little over a year old. What could go wrong? (Or, more surprisingly, what could go right?)





	

“You can’t be serious,” Emma said to Ruby, who was sitting across from Emma on the picnic table outside of the main campus library. Emma wiped crumbs from her mouth and set her sandwich down. “Ignoring the fact that I don’t plan on dating anytime soon, what guy would consider going out with me? I have a kid, and a _young_ one at that.”

“You would like Killian,” Ruby said, giving her best ‘trust me’ pout. “You guys have a lot in common. Besides, he’s a grad student, and grad students are more mature, right?”

“Ruby, he’s a man. Men are never mature, no matter how old they are,” Emma deadpanned, and picked up her sandwich again, taking a large bite out of it. “Besides, how old is he?” she asked around a mouthful of food.

“He’s 24,” Ruby said, clearly not bothered at all about the age difference. Emma supposed that age didn’t really matter, but it was still slightly bothersome. She knew that Ruby had the best of intentions, but the fact remained: she was a 19-year-old college student with a 17-month-old son. Even some guys she considered friends became more reserved around her when they found out she had a child.

Ruby sighed loudly. “He knows you have a kid,” she admitted. “I’m sorry, I told him. He said he doesn’t mind, he’s dated a woman with a son before.”

“Oh really now? Because that’s not creepy,” Emma grumbled into her thermos full of coffee. What was he, some serial-mom-dater?

Ruby’s expression turned serious. “Do you really think I would set you up on a date with someone that I didn’t think would be a good match for you?” Emma met the girl’s eyes across the table. They were intense and very serious. “He may not be a close friend, but I trust him well enough to tell him about Henry. Will you not even go out with him once? I mean hey, it’s free dinner.”

Emma had to hand it to her: Ruby had her at free dinner. Besides, she knew that Ruby had the best of intentions, and Emma could handle men. This time it was Emma who sighed, and Ruby’s face split into a wolf-like grin of triumph.

* * *

 

“Maaaama.” Henry kicked his feet in his high chair, motioning at Emma. She had agreed to meet Killian at a relatively high-class restaurant downtown. How could he even afford this? He was a college student, too, and from what Ruby had later told her, he too had been abandoned when he was young. She was seated at a table with a lit candle in the center and empty wine glasses to the side. She had arranged Henry’s high chair so that he sat beside her. She had always preferred it that way.

Henry continued to whine while she poured some water from her glass into his sippy cup, allowing the grape juice she had brought him to be diluted. She screwed on the top and handed it to him. He grabbed it eagerly, latching his mouth on it and drinking happily. She brushed a lock of hair from his forehead, smiling gently to herself. Her kid was everything to her. She couldn’t imagine what her life would be like if she had given him up like she had intended to.

“Emma Swan?”

Emma’s head jerked in the direction of the voice. It was attached to a strikingly handsome young man who looked just as Ruby had described him. His accent almost made her shiver. Damn Ruby, she knew what those accents did to her. “You must be Killian,” she said unemotionally.

“Aye. And this lad must be Henry,” he said, smiling at the small child. Henry made a small noise of discontent from being near a stranger, and Emma placed a comforting hand on Henry’s shoulder. He was going through a phase where he was becoming more self-aware, which made him find strangers to be disconcerting.

Turning back to the stranger she asked coolly, “Aren’t you going to sit down?”

“Of course,” Killian coughed, sitting down across the table from her and Henry. Was that a laugh or a sign of discomfort? For once she couldn’t get a complete reading, and that made her uneasy. He commented, “You look lovely, Emma.”

“Thank you,” Emma said, looking down at the menu to keep herself from staring. Killian seemed to have no such reservations; she could feel his gaze drilling holes into the top of her head. “Have you ever been here before?” she asked idly, deciding small talk would be the best way to direct the conversation.

“I have not,” Killian admitted, taking the hint and looking at his own menu. “It’s usually outside of my budget, but I thought I would treat us.” Emma pursed her lips. He must really be trying to impress her. A silence descended upon them as they looked at the menu, broken only by Henry’s occasional babbling. At least _he_ was feeling more comfortable around the man.

“So, Ruby tells me that you dated another mother before.” There, she went ahead and said it. Might as well get the worst part over first. Rip off the Band-Aid.

He chuckled darkly. “Straight to the point, I see. Aye, I did. Her name was Milah. Her son was six. It turned out she lied about being divorced and didn’t plan to file for one anytime soon, so it didn’t exactly work out,” he said drily.

Emma could tell that he was bitterly hurt about this. So the relationship, at least in his eyes, had been serious on some level, despite Milah having a son. She felt slightly more at ease. She blurted, “Oh? That’s terrible. I’m not married.” She was silent for a beat and then she clarified, “I’m not sure I ever want to be married. Henry’s father-”

“-Abandoned you?” Killian finished for her. Emma nodded. “What a bastard,” he said in reply.

“Yeah,” Emma agreed, looking down at her menu again, despite already knowing what she was ordering.

When the waiter finally came to take their orders, Killian insisted that she order something for Henry as well, despite Emma’s protestations that she would pay for it. (“I knew you were bringing your son, and I offered to take you to dinner, so why would I expect you to pay?”)

In the end she wound up with a gourmet cheeseburger, Killian with the catch-of-the-day, and Henry happily consumed his steamed broccoli, peas, and a piece of meat from her burger. Henry had calmed enough to eat, occasionally saying, “Yum” to Emma while showing her what he liked. Henry was such a lax toddler; she had been sure that he would be dramatic for being awake and out of the house so late, but he was being relatively quiet. She was thankful because she had not wanted to leave him with a babysitter (since all of her close friends were unavailable to watch him, she’d have had to hire one).

“So what are you in grad school for?” she asked after a few bites of her heavenly food.

Killian set down his fork and swallowed a mouthful of veggies. “I’m going for a history degree. My thesis is on Anne Bonny, a female pirate who lived during golden age of piracy.”

Emma gave a tiny smirk. “Pirates, huh?” She could see it. “I don’t know much about them beyond what I see in movies, but they’re pretty cool. And a woman, huh? That’s really interesting.”

“Absolutely. It’s wise not to get me started because I won’t stop talking about it,” Killian said with a self-deprecating laugh. He grinned across the table at her. She found his dimples endearing. _Shit_ , she realized. She actually was starting to like this guy.

“Nah, it’s good to have passions. I’m a criminal justice major,” Emma admitted. “I’m not too sure what I’m going to do when I graduate, but it seemed as good a major as any.” She shrugged. Law school was of no interest to her, and she didn’t particularly want to be a police officer, either. She couldn’t see past the present because of her need to raise her son. In the end, she would take whatever job was necessary to provide for them.

“There are plenty of opportunities out there with that degree,” Killian said. “You’ll figure it out.”

Another silence descended while they finished their food, though it was not nearly as uncomfortable as the first time. Occasionally Killian would talk to Henry, and Emma’s mama bear-defense instincts were, for once, not on high alert. Ruby had been right – he wasn’t bad around Henry by any means.

And yes, this was the first date, so of course Killian would be mature and respectful. But first dates can be deceiving, so Emma did not hold on to hope that this was Killian’s actual personality. She’d been let down too many times to be so gullible.

Wait, _first_ date? As in she wanted to see him again? Oh, hell. She supposed it wouldn’t hurt; she just wouldn’t get too fond of him beyond a friendship. Not unless he truly got past her walls, which would be an unusual instance indeed.

She was shaken from her thoughts by the waiter, who asked, “Any dessert?”

Killian looked at her expectantly, making it clear that he would pay. Emma smiled with both gratitude and discomfort. “No thank you,” she told them both, holding up a hand. “I am absolutely stuffed, and Henry needs to get in bed.”

While Killian paid, Emma began to clean up Henry, who had managed to cover his hands and face in crushed vegetables. She noticed a few peas and pieces of broccoli on the floor, and felt slightly chagrined about the mess the staff would have to clean up.

As they walked downstairs towards the street, Killian stopped short in front of the doors. “Do you have a ride home?” he asked.

Emma nodded. “I have a car,” she said. “You?”

“I take the subway,” he admitted. “I kind of spend all of my transport money on my ship.”

“You have a ship?” Emma asked with interest. She adjusted Henry on her hip – he was getting extremely heavy. She hadn’t bothered putting on her back carrier because her car was not far enough away to justify using it.

“Aye, I do. I inherited it from my brother,” he said. A brief flicker of emotion in his eyes signaled a loss. She gave a small smile of comfort, and he returned it.

They exited the door together, about to head in different directions. Killian paused and said, “I really enjoyed getting to know you and your boy, Emma.” He paused and then asked curiously, “Will we be seeing each other again?” He honestly wanted to, she realized, and it made a spark of interest ignite within her.

“Sure,” she said, rocking Henry back and forth when he started to grump. “I actually had fun tonight. This is the first date I’ve been on since Henry,” she admitted.

“Sometime I can take you and Henry out on my ship,” he said, and a grin spread across his face. Ah, she figured out where he was happiest. “We can pack a lunch and spend the day traveling along the coast. You can fish if you want, or you can just relax. I’m sure Henry would like it.”

That...that actually sounded really nice. “I may take you up on that offer, pirate,” she said, grinning. She hadn’t smiled this much for a guy in a while. His grin in return at his nickname only made hers grow wider. “Thanks for dinner. I mean it. I haven’t been able to eat out in over a year.”

“My pleasure, Emma.” He raised a hand in goodbye. “I’ll see you sometime soon,” he informed her, walking in the direction of the subway.

He respected her boundaries and didn’t try to kiss her. Already that caused her respect for him to rise up a notch.

After she had bathed Henry and put him to bed, she relaxed on her couch, sipping a small glass of wine (courtesy of Ruby since she was still underage), and pulled out her History of Law textbook. She found, however, that she was reading every sentence multiple times, and slammed her book shut.

“This is not happening. Damn it, Ruby!” she hissed. She sank down into the cushions and pillows, holding her wine glass up so that it didn’t spill. _She is going to give me a big, fat ‘I told you so’_ , Emma thought with a grimace.

She jumped slightly when her phone buzzed on the coffee table. She sat up immediately and set her wine glass down, expecting to find a text from the woman herself asking how the date went. Emma bit back a smile when she saw that it was Killian.

_Spring break is in less than 3 weeks. Hope you don’t get seasick._

“That’s presumptuous of you,” she chuckled to her phone.

Then: _Hope that wasn’t too forward. ;) I’ll give you directions soon._

She rolled her eyes, but not before replying, _See you soon, pirate._

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written as a Captain Swan Secret Santa gift on Tumblr two years ago, but I finally remembered to post it on my AO3! I've also updated a couple of parts, so I like this version better. Find me on tumblr as elliemurdocks.
> 
> In this universe, Neal betrayed her, but she did not go to jail for his crime. She still had a rough, unhappy upbringing in foster homes, and Neal still left her pregnant, but she’s a little better off.
> 
> At some point in the future, I'm planning to write additional one-shots/ficlets for this universe. (It will definitely be after this semester is over and I've moved back home.)
> 
> Title based on the song of the same name by the Avett Brothers. It seemed fitting for this story.
> 
> (Also, for the record, I don't condone underage drinking. I don't even like alcohol, lol.)


End file.
